


Cables and Cords

by ethnofiction



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU, Android companion, Androids, Eventual Romance, Gen, Humanoid android, M/M, Robots, learning to love, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 02:07:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18306008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ethnofiction/pseuds/ethnofiction
Summary: “So it’s a robot?  I… but he looks so…”“Human?” Besithia chuckled and stood behind the body, hands gripping onto a small reporters notepad. “I did say we had been working on it for years.  If you think he looks like the real deal now, just wait till we turn him on.  Getting him to look human was the easy part!  Once he has been activated, no one will be able to tell that he isn’t one of us. Our team created a programme that allows this shell to aid you in both your royal duties and your everyday life.  We call the software ‘Mindertech’ but most of the time you’ll hear us refer to it as ‘MT’.  He will fight by your side, he will help you with your reports, he will listen to you if you need someone to talk to.  Think of him as your humanoid android companion.”





	Cables and Cords

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve always been really drawn to games and stories with robot and android characters and I had this idea come into my head a few nights ago and I have been thinking about it ever since.
> 
> This will be my first time attempting a chartered fic and I’m unsure of what the upload schedule will be like as I work full time and have just started a new job but I’ll try and keep updates as regular as I possibly can!

“Please let us know what you think, Your Majesty. This is the culmination of decades of research and development and we are so pleased that the time has come to finally deliver the final product onto you. It truly has been an honour.”

The man pushed open a large metal door and encouraged both of the other men to step inside. The King entered first, looking over his shoulder to ensure that Noctis was actually following him and hadn’t managed to slip back to his own room, giving his son a brief smile when he saw that he was in fact still there.

Noctis followed but felt uneasy. How had he spent the past eighteen years of his life living in the same place and not known this was here? Sure it was a big place but you’d think a super secret underground lair would maybe come up in conversation or something.

“Uh, Dad?” Noctis picked up the pace a little to walk at his dad’s side. “Since when was there an evil lab in our house?”

“It’s not evil, son.”

“Great. That really cleared things up. Thanks.”

There were a million questions that ran through his head but Noctis couldn’t find the words to ask any of them. Not that it mattered anyway since it was apparent that his dad didn’t seem to see the need to tell him anything about what was actually going on.

Noctis had thought that his 18th birthday was going to be a day off from training and studying before some super shitty formal dinner followed by another one of his dad’s ‘you are the future’ speeches. Not ‘low budget sci-fi movie in real life’ drama.

The pair walked further into the dimly lit room, closely followed by the man who had let them in.

“Besithia,” Regis stopped walking as he called out, grabbing his son’s arm to prevent him from moving any further forward. “This is it?”

Noctis glared ahead unsure of what he was actually looking at. There was definitely something but whatever it was was draped in a thick, black fabric. He didn’t know how he managed to miss the black lump in the middle of the room.

“Yes!”

The older man’s coat flowed behind him as he took strides toward whatever it was. He initially lifted a corner of the material and peaked underneath before his whole head disappeared, fiddling with something below. He eventually came back out with an unnerving smile on his face.

“Happy Birthday, Prince Noctis. I hope you love Prompto as much as we do.”

“Prompto?”

Before Noctis could ask anything else, Besithia tightened his grip on the fabric and pulled, revealing a person sitting on a chair, lifeless with their head lolled over to one side. Noctis continued to stare, body and mind unsure of how to react to what had been presented to him.

“Gods, Besithia. You’ve truly outdone yourself this time. Remarkable.”

Noctis turned around and watched his father as he spoke, an expression of wonder across his face. He felt more so now than ever that everyone knew what was going on except him. He continued to stand motionless until he felt his father place his arm around his shoulders as he looked at him with a smile.

“Go and have a look, Son. This is all for you.”

He took two steps forward on autopilot before he managed to stop himself, looking back and forth from his father to the other man ( _Besithia_ , _apparently_ ) for some form of clarification.

“I… I’m sorry. I don’t know if this is some weird joke or not but I don’t understand.” Noctis paused for a moment to try and figure out what he should even say next. “Is he… _shit_. Is he dead?”

Besithia leapt forward and took hold of one of Noctis’s hands and began to laugh as he pulled him closer to the body.

“Oh! You misunderstand. Please allow me to explain. For years we have been experimenting with artificial intelligence and ways in which it can improve life within the Citadel and the whole of Insomnia. My team and I have dedicated our lives to this research and we now feel like we have achieved what we initially set out to do. Believe me, we have had our failures but every single one allowed us to learn and improve and create him.”

“So it’s a robot? I… but he looks so…”

“Human?” Besithia chuckled and stood behind the body, hands gripping onto a small reporters notepad. “I did say we had been working on it for years. If you think he looks like the real deal now, just wait till we turn him on. Getting him to look human was the easy part! Once he has been activated, no one will be able to tell that he isn’t one of us. Our team created a programme that allows this shell to aid you in both your royal duties and your everyday life. We call the software ‘Mindertech’ but most of the time you’ll hear us refer to it as ‘MT’. He will fight by your side, he will help you with your reports, he will listen to you if you need someone to talk to. Think of him as your humanoid android companion.”

“Why though? I already have assistants and Ignis already pretty much does all that stuff you’ve spoken about. I don’t get it.”

Noctis looked round to his dad, wondering if he would be able to give him a reason for all if this that actually made sense to him.

“Son, you need to remember that Ignis is a young man too. Having this extra help would take the strain off of you and Ignis. I understand that Ignis and yourself enjoy each others company outside of duties but this truly is a blessing. Ignis will be able to concentrate more on his studies whilst still working as your aid. You must see the advantages of this, Noctis.”

Noctis ran his hands over his face and let out a deep sigh whilst he attempted to process what was going on. He let his hands fall to his sides and slowly stepped forward towards body in front of him. He leaned down so that he was at eye level with the android, allowing him to look at its features without getting too close.  
  
“Hey, uh…” Noctis turned around to look at the man in the lab coat who had been writing notes during the entire interaction. “Besithia? Why does it look like this? I mean, I get that you want it to look human but what’s with the freckles and the hair and the _earrings_?”

“Great question!” He closed his notepad and shoved it into the pocket of his coat. “Prompto was made with you in mind. His voice, his personality, his appearance. It’s all for you, Prince Noctis. What we have done is made you the ideal companion. Whilst he was in production, we took the time to think about what kind of person you would socialise with and what they would typically look like. This is the reason why he is so special. Your relationship with Prompto needn’t stop outside of work as he could also be your best friend! He’s your perfect personality match!”  
  
Noctis slowly began nodding his head, processing the information he had just been given. After what felt like forever in his own head, Noctis turned around and approached his dad as he felt his heart rate begin to increase and the heat starting to grown in his cheeks.

“Wow, way to make me feel like shit on my birthday. ‘Dumb kid doesn’t have any friends so let’s make him a robot friend who has no option other than hang out with him’! Thanks, Dad! Real nice!”

“Noctis, you don’t understand.” Regis shook his head as he attempted to better explain the situation. “No one thinks that way. Please just give it a chance and you will see what good this can bring.”

“I understand perfectly. I’m going to bed.”

Noctis attempted to leave the room but Regis grabbed his son’s arm and forced him to turn around to watch what was happening on the other side of the room.

Besithia took a step back from the once lifeless body as it almost instantly came to life, throwing its head back and gasping for air. After about a minute of panicked breathing, it eventually calmed down and turned to look at Besithia with a small smile on his lips.

“Welcome back, Prompto.” Besithia brushed some of the hair that had fallen out of place away from the androids eyes as he spoke. “I’ve brought someone here to see you. I’d like you to meet-“

“Prince Noctis.”

Prompto finished speaking for Besithia and turned around to Noctis, standing up as he spoke and slowly walking across the room to come face to face with Noctis.

“I look forward to working with you, Your Majesty. I’ve been told so much about you! Hopefully we work well together!”

Prompto extended his hand out in greeting to Noctis as Noctis turned and walked out of the room with a sigh.

“Whatever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Just wanted to clarify that in this fic, Prompto just looks like Prompto. He doesn’t have any distinctive robot/android features.
> 
> Again, this is my first go at a chaptered fic and constructive criticism and feedback are very much appreciated.


End file.
